The African Union (AU) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment and use of the African Standby Force to support efforts to combat terrorism and other emerging security threats across the continent.
Gatekeepers News reports that Bankole Adeoye, AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, disclosed this at a two-day high-level forum on repositioning the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to tackle evolving security threats in the Lake Chad region.
The forum, convened by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in partnership with the Irregular Warfare Centre of the National Defence College, took place in Abuja from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Adeoye said the African Standby Force was designed as an agile continental formation that would complement the MNJTF’s operations against terrorism and other emerging security challenges in the Lake Chad region.
The MNJTF comprises military personnel primarily from Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria. The regional force was established to combat insurgency in the Lake Chad basin.
Speaking at the forum, Christopher Musa, minister of defence, said there was a need to reassess the MNJTF’s structure, operational capabilities, intelligence systems, command and control arrangements, logistics and financing in response to changing security dynamics and evolving patterns of international support.
Musa called for practical, sustainable and adaptable measures to strengthen the force and improve its effectiveness in tackling regional security challenges.
Oluremi Oluyede, chief of defence staff, also stressed the importance of sustained cooperation, intelligence sharing, interoperability and mutual trust among regional and international stakeholders.
The AU’s move to position the African Standby Force as a complementary formation to the MNJTF comes days after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other regional blocs signed a memorandum of understanding with the continental body in Egypt to strengthen coordination in preparing and deploying the standby force.
The latest agreement underscores ongoing efforts by African institutions and regional security organisations to improve coordination and strengthen collective responses to terrorism and other evolving threats.
